It was the perfect present for Diane, who had always dreamed of growing cut flowers.
She set about the daunting task of clearing the site with her husband, Steven, a former physics teacher turned professional gardener.
They were aware of a wall on one side of the plot, but a few surprises lay in store, including a derelict caravan that fell apart as they tried to move it. The remains of a Victorian greenhouse were another, more exciting discovery and further research revealed the land had once been the walled kitchen garden for Arderne Hall, a Victorian neo-Gothic house built in 1863. The house itself was demolished in 1958, but the kitchen garden remained, gradually reclaiming the land by nature.
The old wall of what was the kitchen garden at Arderne Hall, now a part of the Lloyds Flower Farm patch. The hall was demolished in 1958. Image: Alison Moore It was a labour of love for the couple, but eventually, enough space was cleared for Diane to start preparing the soil for her borders and raised beds.
She favours the ‘no-dig method’ pioneered by English horticulturist Charles Dowding, which involves minimal disturbance to the soil to preserve beneficial fungi and bacteria. The beds were initially covered with cardboard to smother the weeds, followed by a layer of organic matter added to the surface. The soil was already of good quality – the Victorian kitchen gardeners had clearly made the most of the sheltered site – and Diane’s homemade compost and comfrey feed ensure vigorous, healthy plants.
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The history of gardens holds a fascination for me and led me to join the Cheshire Gardens Trust earlier this year. When Diane took me on a tour of the plot to show me where the original house would have stood, it was thrilling to see a small bridge where gardeners would have walked to access the kitchen garden from the house.
Where fruit and vegetables once grew, the old garden has come back to life with flowers blooming throughout the seasons. Diane explained she grows a mix of perennials and annuals, with a focus on annuals grown from seed. Some are cultivated in her greenhouse at home, while others are directly sown into the prepared beds. Her Christmas present this year was a mini greenhouse for the flower farm, so there will be more scope for seed sowing in the future.
The remains of Arderne Hall’s Victorian greenhouse, now a part of Lloyds Flower Farm. Image: Alison Moore The season begins in April with tulips and progresses to alliums, irises and the dreamy Ammi majus in May, which always looks wonderful in floral arrangements. Diane shared that her top summer flowers are cosmos, zinnias, statice, and strawflowers, all ideal ‘cut-and-come-again’ varieties. These flowers bloom prolifically through to autumn, alongside a variety of stunning dahlias.
Helping Diane and Steven is her friend, florist Amanda Canning, whose influence is evident in the foliage plants, such as eucalyptus and physocarpus, growing alongside the flowers. On the day of my visit, Amanda was creating a beautiful arrangement for the funeral of Diane’s father, Charles Elliott.
Diane is also an advocate of the work of Farewell Flowers. If you visited or watched coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May year, you may have noticed the organisation’s display, which consisted exclusively of British-grown cut flowers and foliage. Farewell Flowers campaigns to remove plastic from funeral flower decorations and aims to demonstrate that floral beauty for all occasions need not come at the expense of sustainability.
Lloyds Flower Farm flowers are sold at Tarporley Market, run by the Rotary Club of Tarporley, on the first Saturday of every month from April to October inclusive. The market is staffed by volunteers, with proceeds supporting the Rotary Club. Diane also sells flowers directly from the field in buckets for weddings and other special occasions.
Diane and Steven Lloyd have a YouTube channel where they share gardening advice youtube.com/c/GardeningTipsWithTheLloyds
lloydsflowerfarm@gmail.com
instagram.com/lloydsflowerfarm
Diane Lloyd has transformed a piece of derelict land to a blooming flower garden. Image: Alison Moore
Other blossoming Cheshire flower farms
The British cut-flower market has been thriving in recent years. Although imported flowers still dominate, there is hope that this growing trend for locally grown flowers will continue, making a small but positive impact on climate change. And, it’s great to see so many small businesses starting up here in Cheshire.
Grove and Green. Based in Sandbach, this is the first year of flower farming for Katy Lowe.
groveandgreen.co.uk
Life on the Lot. Jenny Howarth is expanding from growing flowers on her allotment to a site at Claremont Farm in Bebington.
lifeonthelot.co.uk/wirralflowerfarm
Firs Flower Farm. We met Imogen Harrison a couple of years ago and her flower farming business near Helsby is thriving.
firsflowerfarm.co.uk
Carol’s Garden. Carol Siddorn is a grower/florist of garden and wild flowers based at Harthill, Chester.
carolsgarden.co.uk
Alison Moore is a writer and photographer based in Sale who writes a blog about her garden and other gardens she visits in Cheshire. She is a member of the Garden Media Guild and the Council of Management for the Cheshire Gardens Trust.
X, Instagram and Bluesky @a1isonmoore
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